Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, Giza, Egypt.
Research on Children with Special Needs DepartmentNational Research Centre, Giza, Egypt.
J Mol Neurosci. 2020 Jun;70(6):897-907. doi: 10.1007/s12031-020-01482-2. Epub 2020 Mar 4.
Current research has shown that gut microbiota may play a fundamental role in neurological activity, behavior, mood, cognition, and possibly for the onset as well as the severity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Previous studies emphasized the possible correlation between Clostridium spp., gut colonization, and possible development or exacerbating of ASD in affected children. The aim of the present study was to investigate how Clostridia gut colonization can have an impact on the neurological outcome and anthropometric values in ASD children. The present study included 60 children (30 ASD and 30 neurotypical controls) of both sexes aged from 2 to 8 years. Children with ASD were diagnosed according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5), Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R), as well as the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) was used to determine Clostridium presence in the stools of the enrolled subjects. The number of Clostridium spp. (Clostridium paraputri, Clostridium bolteae, and Clostridium perfringens) found in the stools of ASD children was greater than neurotypical children. Children with ASD had two types of Clostridium (Clostridium diffiicile and Clostridium clostridiioforme) not found in neurotypical children, whereas neurotypical children yielded only one species (Clostridium tertium) not found in the ASD children. The present study emphasizes the potential correlation between gut colonization of Clostridia and the probability of developing or exacerbating ASD among Egyptian children. If Clostridium bacteria play a potential role in the etiology of ASD, this may open the possibility for effective treatment of these patients.
目前的研究表明，肠道微生物群可能在神经活动、行为、情绪、认知中发挥着根本作用，并且可能与自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的发病和严重程度有关。先前的研究强调了梭菌属、肠道定植与受影响儿童 ASD 发展或恶化之间可能存在的相关性。本研究旨在探讨肠道梭菌定植如何影响 ASD 儿童的神经学结果和人体测量值。本研究纳入了 60 名儿童（30 名 ASD 儿童和 30 名神经正常对照儿童），年龄在 2 至 8 岁之间，男女不限。根据《精神障碍诊断与统计手册》第 5 版（DSM-5）、修订版自闭症诊断访谈（ADI-R）和儿童自闭症评定量表（CARS）对 ASD 儿童进行诊断。采用定量实时聚合酶链反应（实时 PCR）来确定纳入研究对象粪便中梭菌的存在。在 ASD 儿童的粪便中发现的梭菌属数量（梭状芽胞杆菌、丁酸梭菌和产气荚膜梭菌）多于神经正常对照儿童。ASD 儿童有两种梭菌（艰难梭菌和梭状芽胞杆菌）未在神经正常对照儿童中发现，而神经正常对照儿童仅有一种未在 ASD 儿童中发现的梭菌（中间梭菌）。本研究强调了肠道梭菌定植与埃及儿童患 ASD 的可能性之间的潜在相关性。如果梭状芽孢杆菌在 ASD 的病因学中发挥潜在作用，这可能为这些患者的有效治疗开辟可能性。
